Indonesia's President Subianto reportedly set for surprise visit to Israel amid diplomatic thaw

Prabowo Subianto, President of the world’s largest majority-Muslim nation, Indonesia, is set to visit Israel on Wednesday, media reported on Monday.

The report followed an earlier, unexplained request by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to cancel his testimony in his ongoing corruption trial that was scheduled for Wednesday, citing “an important and urgent diplomatic visit.”

The visit would be the first time a sitting Indonesian president visits Israel. The two countries have no official diplomatic ties.

The announcement came after Subianto surprised many when he announced he would recognize the State of Israel on the same day that Israel formally recognized a Palestinian state, during his speech at the UN General Assembly last month.

He said that Israel's right to live in security must be respected, ending his speech with the conciliatory Hebrew word for peace, “Shalom.”

In his speech, Subianto also said that Indonesia, a country of over 280 million people, “is ready to deploy 20,000 or even more of our sons and daughters to establish peace in Gaza or elsewhere.”

“Indonesia once again reiterates its commitment to the two-state solution of the Palestine problem. Only this will lead to peace. We must guarantee statehood for Palestine,” Subianto argued, saying that the nation would support “all guarantees for the security of Israel.”

Despite his support for the recognition of the “State of Palestine” and repeated criticism of Israel during its war against Hamas, Subianto’s comments were much friendlier toward Israel compared to those of other Muslim leaders.

Already over a year ago, reports said Indonesia could be ready to establish diplomatic relations with Israel in exchange for its entry to the OECD.

Its government also said it is planning to treat 2,000 Gazan civilians in its hospitals, and was among the countries that were brought up as possibilities to receive Gazans as part of a relocation plan proposed by U.S. President Donald Trump.

Despite having no official diplomatic ties, there have been many unofficial contacts between the two countries over the decades.

In the '70s and '80s, the countries' militaries developed close cooperation, and Indonesia purchased some equipment from Israel.

In 1993, Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin visited Jakarta in a private visit, meeting President Suharto.

Prime Minister Netanyahu met a delegation of Indonesian journalists in 2016, telling them, “It’s time for there to be official relations between Indonesia and Israel. We have many opportunities for bilateral cooperation, especially in the fields of water technology and high-tech.”

“It’s time to change our relationship, because the reasons preventing it are no longer relevant,” Netanyahu said at the time.